For Authentic Italian Food & Beautiful Wine, Try Enoteca Turi

May 9, 2017

Baked Artichoke Heart

I was really rather excited about dining at Enoteca Turi as I’d heard excellent reports. Originally this restaurant was in Putney and then after 25 years changed location to Pimlico in 2016. I like the fact that it’s slightly away from the tourism of King’s Road and it was quite clear as the evening wore on that there is regular clientele, which is always a good sign!

The ambience was a lovely balance between family trattoria and formal ristorante. There is no music, which may sound strange, but it worked extremely well. The decor is minimalistic with walls painted in a subtle pale gold, while each table has a place to hang coats which blends into the wall as decoration when not being used. By 7pm the restaurant was beginning to fill with a mixture of business people as well as casual diners. Another really big plus for this restaurant is the sound-absorbing acoustic ceiling which makes for easy conversation. There is also a wine cellar downstairs set up for private dining.

Wine Cellar / Private Dining Room

The menu is small and offers seasonal dishes from various regions in Italy. I liked the fact that there is a wine suggestion paired with almost every dish, and the wine list itself has to be one of the most comprehensive wine lists focussed on Italian wines I’ve ever seen. The wines are grouped together mainly by grape type and each one comes with an explanation. There are 15 wines by the glass as well as a vast array of around 400 wines by the bottle, including magnums of wine, champagne and even 22 dessert wines!

Baked Artichoke Heart

And now to the food! To start with, I had the most scrumptious pasta dish with a rich duck ragout, which was a special for the evening. It had the unusual flavour of cocoa mixed with chilli and was a marriage made in heaven paired with a glass of Valpolicella Superiore DOC 2015. My companion had the baked artichoke heart, accompanied by a slow cooked egg (with a lovely runny yolk) and Pecorino sauce. The natural, true flavours really shone through! Her wine pairing was a glass of Riseis Pecorino IGT 2015.

Duck

Venison

For the main course I chose venison with blueberry sauce, Brussel sprouts, endive and Oro Rosso blue cheese. It was suggested I have the venison cooked medium rare, to which I agreed, and it couldn’t have been more perfect. The blend of rich venison, blueberry and sprouts worked particularly well together along with glass of Macchiarossa Tintilia DOP 2011. My friend had the roast breast of duck with baby gem lettuce, anchovy, capers and Peverada sauce. The duck was so tender and had a lovely crispy skin. She’s a lover of anchovies and so was thrilled that this taste came right through. She had a glass of Barbaresco Asili DOCG 2013 as her wine pairing.

Tiramisiu

On to desserts….I selected a rather delicious chocolate and sour cherry with almond praline and cherry meringue. I’m a real chocoholic and this dish satisfied that craving for sure! So beautifully presented and I could really taste the cherries. A glass of Recioto della Valpolicella DOCG 2013 accompanied this sweet dish, while my companion had the most incredibly light and fluffy tiramisu. The presentation was something else – it was a tiramisu explosion on a plate! This is a special by the chef, Francesco, who made the time to come and chat with us about his famous dessert which worked perfectly with a glass of Vin Santo del Chianti DOC 2007.

We rounded our meal off with excellent almond macaroon petit fours and coffee. A perfect end to a perfect meal. All in all a relaxed evening with beautifully presented authentic Italian food, amazing wines, great atmosphere with professional yet friendly and knowledgeable staff. Thank you, Enoteca Turi!